Head Mounted Displays, How-To; Teardowns; Tutorials, VR Companies, Where Are They Now?
I’ve gotten a ton of emails hurled at me about the Liquid Image MRG2.2 VR helmet. The gist of most of them is: “Hey, I love the wide field of view and how rugged the MRG2.2 is, but I wish I could upgrade the LCD resolution, and, is there a way to make this...
Head Mounted Displays, VR Companies
It’s 1985 and there’s already a nice high resolution, wide field of view VR helmet (from VPL Research), glove system, and 6 DOF tracking of both helmet and glove, thanks to Scott Fisher and NASA Ames. In particular, check out the LEEP wide FOV optics...
Head Mounted Displays, How-To; Teardowns; Tutorials, VR Companies, Where Are They Now?
This totally excellent demo of the Victormaxx Stuntmaster helmet speaks for itself. Lyme disease aside, the Stuntmaster’s wretched optical qualities seem overly cruel to this beast. And a nice teardown…...
Game Systems, On TV, VR Companies
The ill fated GamePro TV did a 1991 “Cutting Edge” feature on the original Virtuality arcade systems, including footage from their premier multi-player Dactyl Nightmare title. Be careful not to fry your eyeballs on host J.D. Roth’s outfit; did anyone...
Head Mounted Displays, VR Companies
By 1991, the FlightHelmet was the third HMD to feature Large Expanse Extra Perspective (LEEP) optics from Eric Howlett’s LEEP-VR. The Flight Helmet combined LEEP’s 100° field of view with an adjustable, comfortable and rugged packaging design. The...
Game Systems, Head Mounted Displays, VR Companies
IAPPA 1999 brought us another stand-up VR system from New York based HeadGames, the VR2000. Based on the Forte consumer head mounted display, the VR2000 also featured the “Player Retainer.” Initially I thought this was some special magic which ensured...
Head Mounted Displays, VR Companies
1994 brought one of the first “lightweight” head mounted displays, the CyberEye from then San Jose based General Reality. Offered in both stereoscopic and monoscopic versions, the CyberEye featured a flip-up visor which allowed users to see keyboards and...
Game Systems, Head Mounted Displays, VR Companies
The Kimera game system from Immersive Technologies appeared at the 1995 IAAPA show with a solution to the VR arcade’s most vexing challenge: how to keep the helmets from being damaged or stolen without a full time attendant. Taking their cue from the Fakespace...
Head Mounted Displays, VR Companies
The product slick offers a virtually indestructible carry case. I’m not completely sure why, as the Liquid Image MRG2 helmet shell, constructed of multi-layer fiberglass, was non-virtually (i.e. real-world) indestructible. The MRG2 was actually quite clever,...
Game Systems, VR Companies
1995 brought us yet another Gyro based VR Game system, the X-O-Tron VR, a descendant of the original non-electronic gyro-exercise system, the Orbotron. Initially inspired by the March 1992 release of Lawnmower Man, the first gyro VR systems appeared that summer (full...
Head Mounted Displays, VR Companies
“Virtual Reality Systems ’93” in the Hyatt above Grand Central Station was the end of the line for this trade show, as it was for the Virtual Research Flight Helmet which was soon to be superseded by lighter and more manufacturable HMDs. In the...
Head Mounted Displays, VR Companies
If you’ve ever tried out Virtual Reality, the FIRST thing you’ll feel is the tug of the helmet cable as you virtually (and actually) try to walk down the path. Many HMDs use the weight of a rear exiting cable as a counter-weight to offset the heavy front...
Head Mounted Displays, VR Companies
By 1994 the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) exhibition floor was packed with VR systems. As a potential marketplace, blood was in the water and you couldn’t tell the fish from the sharks. With a very few exceptions most of...
